North Bay Business Journal

ROHNERT PARK — Efforts continue to secure full funding for constructing an outdoor pavilion at Sonoma State University’s Green Music Center, one of a number of construction projects at the school that include a new student center that is nearing completion, according to the university.

Offered for the first time this year, the eight-course Wine Industry Finance and Accounting certificate program takes many of the financial skills taught in Sonoma State’s full-blown wine business degree programs and breaks those topics out for focused instruction to a non-student audience.

NORTH BAY — At a time of reduced state funding for public education in California, some of the North Bay’s largest and most influential employers are launching and supporting initiatives that seek to bolster programs for students from elementary school through the college level.

Gary Heck, owner and president of Korbel Champagne Cellars and Kenwood Vineyards, became an honorary inductee of the Sonoma State University chapter of the Beta Gamma Sigma business honor society last month. …

Amid the rising popularity of a for-credit “Banking and Finance Academy” program operated in partnership with Santa Rosa City Schools, Redwood Credit Union recent took part in a new “Bite of Reality” financial literacy program in San Rafael. …

Dominican University’s Venture Greenhouse incubator and accelerator program will host a “Marinnovation” showcase for innovators and entrepreneurs from Marin County on May 15, with Netflix co-founder and Mill Valley resident Mitch Lowe as keynote. …

On May 10, College of Marin will host a celebration for its recently opened Science, Math and Nursing building at the school’s Kentfield Campus, featuring a lecture by alumnus Adam Steltzner from the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Mars Rover “Curiosity” expedition. …

Stephen Olson, long-time agriculture instructor at Santa Rosa Junior College and a major force behind the college’s Shone Farm programs, has been selected to receive one of the school’s highest honors for staff, the President’s Medallion of Honor. …

Matthew Taylor recently joined Sonoma Bank’s commercial banking office, located at 801 Fourth St. in Santa Rosa, as a commercial banker. …

The U.S. Green Building Council Redwood Empire chapter announced the election of nine new members to its board of directors. …

Armand Gilinsky, professor in the School of Business and Economics at Sonoma State University, was named as one of two recipients of the Bernie and Estelle Goldstein Award for Excellence in Scholarship. …

Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Sonoma County added James Conners and Kimberly Baldwin to its resource development team. …

W3 Partners, a San Rafael-based real estate investment operating company, named Peter Mette managing partner. …

ROHNERT PARK — The North Bay iHub and the Sonoma Mountain Business Cluster are each on the verge of a significant evolutionary step, transitioning from a focus on high-tech startups to the promotion of innovative companies and nonprofits across a broad variety of industries in the North Bay, according to leaders coordinating those efforts.

NORTH BAY — Graduates of North Bay colleges are increasingly bracing to enter a job market that often thinks in terms of projects instead of long-term payroll, finding success by adopting the sensibilities of an entrepreneurial self advocate, educators said.

ROHNERT PARK — In his annual economic forecast at the Sonoma State University Economic Outlook Conference, Dr. Robert Eyler, director of the university’s Center for Regional Economic Analysis, said that the six North Bay counties of Marin, Sonoma, Napa, Solano, Mendocino and Lake could expect “broad growth” across various sectors through 2014.

ROHNERT PARK — Opening the 2013 Economic Outlook Conference at Sonoma State University’s Green Music Center on Wednesday, Sandy Weill, former chairman and top executive of Citigroup and a major donor to the project, pointed to the upper seats of the concert hall that his contributions had helped to complete.

Monday–Tuesday, March 18–19, 2013, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. This two-day seminar is targeted to wine company principals, senior leadership and their advisers. It will concentrate on what drives value growth and how that is accomplished in today’s ultra-competitive wine industry.

ROHNERT PARK — Mark Nelson, former president and chief operating officer of the Nelson Family of Companies, has been selected for a newly created “entrepreneur-in-residence” position at the Sonoma State University School of Business and Economics, according to an announcement today.

The recently completed, $150-million Green Music Center at Sonoma State University, that will play host to the North Bay Business Journal’s annual Economic Outlook Conference on Feb. 27. For 2013, the conference is titled Game Changers: Innovations and Leaders Transforming the North Bay Economy.

Sonoma State University in February will launch a certificate program taught by wine industry professionals in the finance and accounting fields.

ROHNERT PARK — Nearly eight years in the making, Sonoma State University plans to open the doors of a three-story, 130,000-square-foot student center this August, creating a central hub for student activity and providing the largest conference and event space in Sonoma County.

As the new director of the University of San Francisco’s Santa Rosa campus, Xavier Nazario said that he hopes to pursue new academic programs and grow enrollment in 2013 and beyond. …

A gift of advanced electronic measurement equipment valued at more than $220,000 will help Sonoma State University to offer new courses and develop one of the most advanced measurement laboratories in the California State University system. …

Sonoma County District Attorney Jill Ravitch will deliver the commencement address at Empire College’s semiannual graduation ceremony for the School of Business on the evening of Jan. 21. …

Corey Lee, chef and owner of Benu Restaurant in San Francisco, delivered the keynote address to a graduating class from the Culinary Institute of America’s Greystone campus in St. Helena. …

ROHNERT PARK — While early plans for the magnificent and unrivaled Donald and Maureen Green Music Center on the campus of Sonoma State University date back to 1996, construction activities did not begin in earnest until March 1, 2006. The center officially opened this year on Sept. 29.

FAIRFIELD — The five privately operated hospitals in Solano County make up more than 11 percent of the local economy, making health care a key driver that could be even more important in the future, according to a new study that details the economic impact of Solano County’s hospitals.

Sonoma State University Assistant Professor of Economics Merlin Hanauer was awarded the Cozzarelli Prize. …

James Minnis joined the Prima Medical Group after completing fellowship training in critical care at Stanford University. …

AvroKO Hospitality Group for its new Napa restaurant, The Thomas, appointed Jason Kupper chef de cuisine, Cory Colton pastry chef overseeing dessert and the daily bread program, and Napa Valley resident Bradley Wasserman sommelier. …

Santa Rosa-based Tonnellerie Radoux USA, Inc. hired Greg Sitton as the newest member of its sales team. …

Frank Howard Allen Realtors announced that Sonoma County real estate agent Daniel Casabonne ranks among the top 1 percent of all real estate agents nationwide for 2011 closed transaction volume. …

Rohnert Park-based Sonoma Mountain Business Cluster, host of the North Bay iHub, named J. Roy Martinez as interim executive director. …

Montgomery Taylor, owner and founder of Santa Rosa-based Montgomery Taylor, CPA, and the separate investment management company, Montgomery Taylor & Company, LLC, has published a new book highlighting points important for continued income through retirement. …

Sonoma State University’s Accounting Forum, the campus’s largest academic club, will host a career fair for aspiring accounting professionals on Sept. 28. …

The Internal Revenue Service has unveiled a new website designed to streamline access to popular resources for both tax professionals and the general public. …

Financial regulators have published a joint notice of an extension to the comment period for the proposed Basel III capital reserve standards for financial institutions, a change that stands to impact a wide swath of operations for financial institutions, including accounting. …

ROHNERT PARK — Sonoma State University welcomed the first group of students into its newly revamped part-time MBA program last week, the newest iteration of a 25-year-old program that was developed to include the latest teaching methods and input from the North Bay business community.